1 Iowa State University, Ames,IA
2 Walter P. Moore & Assoc., Inc. Houston, TX
ABSTRACT
Horizontal joint reinforcement in masonry walls has been used successfully for a long time. Recently, questions have arisen as to the amount of elongation that can take place of the joint reinforcement wire which is embedded in masonry mortar joints. This amount of elongation is important for shear walls being subjected to large forces during earthquakes.
This study investigated the amount of gage length and elongation that is possible for various amounts and kinds of joint reinforcement embedded in mortar for masonry wall units. Epoxy joint reinforcement was considered as well as the ordinary galvanized joint reinforcement. An amount of strain elongation to allow deformation of the wire across a small crack is found to be beneficial for the joint reinforcement provided that the wire itself has the capable strain elongation. This paper and presentation will present the results of a test to determine the gage elongation lengths due to different amounts of surcharge for wires embedded in mortar joints.
4048.pdf
